The Diamond League final is upon us, which means the 2024 professional track & field season is drawing to a close (although the new Athlos women’s only meet in NYC is on September 26). The two-day affair at the Allianz Memorial Van Damme in Brussels on Friday and Saturday will be the last chance to see many of the sport’s biggest stars like Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Cole Hocker, Sha’Carri Richardson, and Letsile Tebogo. The men’s 1500 between Hocker, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, and Yared Nuguse should be terrific as usual, the women’s 100 offers a battle between world champ Richardson and Olympic champ Julien Alfred, and 800 men Emmanuel Wanyonyi, Marco Arop, and Djamel Sedjati will get one last crack at David Rudisha‘s 1:40.91 world record.
It is worth noting who will not be in Brussels. Grant Holloway, the Olympic 110 hurdles winner who has competed five times since winning gold in Paris, has basically stated that Brussels is not paying him enough to turn up, referring to it as a “trash ass track meet.” And, while McLaughlin-Levrone will be in Brussels, she will not be running any Diamond League events because the DL insisted that anyone obtaining a worldwide wild card compete in at least one DL event during the season (SML did not run any).
Not the smoothest season finale, but track and field never disappoints. Below are some opinions on the lineups in Brussels and a preview of the most entertaining races of the meet.
One last thing: this will be the last Diamond League meet broadcast on Peacock. Remember, FloTrack takes over the US streaming rights in 2025.
To run or not to run, that is the question
The Diamond League final is, theoretically, meant to be one of the biggest track meets of the season: the Diamond League is the pro league in track & field, and the DL final is its marquee event. And of the 18 athletes who won gold on the track in Paris (not counting the 10,000 since it’s not a DL event), 11 will be competing in Brussels. That certainly more than what you get in a normal Diamond League but far less than 100%.
By comparison, Rome had three Olympic champions on the track (out of eight events) and Zurich had six (out of nine events).
Here’s the breakdown of who is in and who is out in Brussels:
| Event | Runner | Qualified? | Running DL final | Note |
| Men’s 100 | Noah Lyles | No | No | Ended season at Olympics where he contacted Covid-19 |
| Men’s 200 | Letsile Tebogo | Yes | Yes | |
| Men’s 400 | Quincy Hall | Yes | No | Ended season at Olympics (injury at Olympics) |
| Men’s 800 | Emmanuel Wanyonyi | Yes | Yes | |
| Men’s 1500 | Cole Hocker | Yes | Yes | |
| Men’s 5000 | Jakob Ingebrigtsen | Yes | Yes* | Running 1500 in Brussels |
| Men’s 110 hurdles | Grant Holloway | Yes | No | Couldn’t “reach agreements” with meet director |
| Men’s 400 hurdles | Rai Benjamin | No | No | Ended season at Olympics |
| Men’s steeple | Soufiane El Bakkali | Yes | Yes | |
| Women’s 100 | Julien Alfred
Sha’Carri Richardson |
Yes
Yes |
Yes
Yes |
|
| Women’s 200 | Gabby Thomas | Yes | No | Running ATHLOS meet in NYC on 9/26 |
| Women’s 400 | Marileidy Paulino | Yes | Yes | |
| Women’s 800 | Keely Hodgkinson | Yes | No | Ended season at Olympics (citing injury) |
| Women’s 1500 | Faith Kipyegon | Yes | Yes | |
| Women’s 5000 | Beatrice Chebet | Yes | Yes | |
| Women’s 100 hurdles | Masai Russell | Yes | No | Running ATHLOS meet in NYC on 9/26 |
| Women’s 400 hurdles | Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone | No | Yes* | Running non-DL 200/400 in Brussels |
| Women’s steeple | Winfred Yavi | Yes | Yes |
Taking a closer look at some of these athletes reveals some of the issues with professional track in 2024.
